Saint Agnes visited in prison by Saint Peter

Altarpiece made in 1597 by Federico Zuccari, currently exhibited in the Cathedral, in the upper part of the marble altar dedicated to Saint Agatha, found in the sixth bay of the right nave. Recently subject of careful restoration, the painting depicts the virgin Saint Agatha being visited in prison by Saint Peter. The painting is part of a larger campaign designed to enrich the Duomo's internal areas through the designing of new altars and related iconographic apparatus. Zuccari, who was particularly linked to the figure of Federico Borromeo, then Archbishop of Milan, depicts the episode in which the holy Sicilian martyr Agatha, in prison after having been tortured, is visited by Saint Peter the Apostle who heals her amputated breasts. The artist uses a particularly sombre style, of solemn monumentality, which echoes that of Michelangelo.